AEW Booms and Duds: Kenny Omega took too long to beat … who?

Boom: establishing talent with deliberate squash matches

“The Exalted One” Brodie Lee and Wardlow both impressed in their quick victories last night.

Lee, taking on Justin Law, utterly decimated his opposition in methodical fashion. He’s really playing the sadistic leader well; his facial expressions seem to reveal a sick pleasure as he’s considering just what to do next to his foe (and sometimes Dark Order members).

There is little wasted movement or emotion from Lee as “The Exalted One.” Every movement, every look, every gesture has a purpose. Being so methodical in his decimation adds a layer of fear to his character. The video package with Lee welcoming Preston Vance as “10” also added intrigue (more later).

He still has the best discus lariat in the game, and one of the best lariats overall (it’s hard to top the Rainmaker, though).

Moving to Wardlow, many fans weren’t sure what to expect of him in AEW … and then we saw him against Cody in that steel cage. Considering that was his first AEW match and it was so high-profile, Wardlow not only acquitted himself well, he was impressive.

Wardlow isn’t as tall as either Lee or Lance Archer, but he is strong and stocky; he kind of reminds of me a Michael Elgin-type. The best way to display his strengths and character in establishing him as a legitimate wrestler is through decisive victories like he had against Lee Johnson last night.

Johnson never had a chance. Wardlow hit a gorilla press into a powerslam, basically pulling off a one-man Viking Experience maneuver. After placing Lee on the top turnbuckle, he brought him down into a wicked rising knee that made Lee crumble.

Just look at the height and rotation on that F10 above. Wow! Of course, that’s going to be harder to accomplish on a wrestler of Moxley’s size, but it was still impressive nonetheless.

After having virtually no squash matches for the first few months of Dynamite, 2020 has seen several squashes across both men’s and women’s divisions which have helped build wrestlers in both. Using local, unsigned talent is an extremely effective way to incorporate squash matches without having it reflect on the records of signed AEW talent.

Hopefully, more squashes are on the menu in the future.